Are high tolls on the ICC forcing traffic onto Norbeck Road?

Are the tolls on the Intercounty Connector (ICC) too high?  Could they be forcing traffic onto Norbeck Road?  That appears to be happening according to a recent article in the Washington Post's Examiner newspaper that you can pick up for free at bus stops and metro stations. 


Apparently, Maryland is raising tolls on the Bay Bridge and other roads because gasoline taxes aren't producing enough revenue to cover the $2.6 billion that was spent to build the ICC.



Peter Samuel, editor and publisher of Tollroad News, has taken a close look at the relative costs of building Maryland's Intercounty Connector.



Are ICC's high tolls dumping traffic on Norbeck Road?



On the basis of cost per lane-mile, the ICC came in at $23 million per lane-mile.  Tollroad News has raised  some issues that may prompt the Maryland General Assembly to scrutinize highway projects more carefully in the future.

See the full article after the jump:



Tolls will continue to jump on Washington-area roads



Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/2011/07/tolls-will-continue-jump-washington-roads#ixzz1RGF5BGdh

This is the last July Fourth weekend that Washingtonians will pay $2.50 to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge as they head for a getaway at the popular Atlantic Ocean beaches.

The toll will double to $5 in October and jump to $8 by 2013, shocking Marylanders.



But transportation analysts say drivers should get used to paying a high fee to cross a bridge or drive on a road -- tolls will increasingly replace gasoline taxes as the way states will pay for their transportation infrastructure in the future.



"The actual value of the gas tax hasn't been going up the way it needs to to pay for the roads we want, so there's a new interest in toll roads now," said John Gilmour, a government professor at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. "Because of political pressure against raising taxes, if they're going to build new roads, they have to be toll roads."





That's certainly the case with the carpool lanes being built on the Capital Beltway in Virginia that solo riders can buy their way into -- dubbed "Lexus lanes" -- and the brand-new Intercounty Connector, whose high tolls must help cover the $1.2 billion in toll-backed bonds that went into the road's $2.56 billion in construction costs. Maryland officials also want the toll to be high enough to discourage some drivers and defeat congestion.

Tolls on the Bay Bridge, Nice Bridge, Interstate 95 Turnpike, Key Bridge, the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and Fort McHenry Tunnel will jump in October and skyrocket by 2013 to fund repairs and expand the area's transportation network.



The Dulles Toll Road will raise fares next year, while the Delaware Memorial Bridge's toll increased from $3 to $4 on July 1 to generate $21 million for the bridge and a ferry.

Peter Samuel, editor of Tollroadsnews, explained that the increases seen around Maryland are so steep because legislators have kept tolls stable for decades. "They're playing catch-up to an extent. I think they probably should have bit the bullet on tolls three or four years ago," he said.



But tolls are polarizing, and politicians need points. The pro-toll philosophy says it makes sense to get the money to fix roads from the people who choose to use them: States are strapped to find other funding sources, and drivers can always take the traffic-heavy free routes.



But drivers say they're fed up with tolls -- and may even abandon roads and bridges that are getting pricier.

"It's not a small increase -- it's a slap in the face," said Marianne Jansa, a 53-year-old Hanover, Md., resident who drives over the Bay Bridge every weekend. "Most of the people I've talked to said they're going to stop going over there."





Jansa said she wasn't sure where she thought the money to repair the bridge should come from, but said that it certainly shouldn't come from her change purse.

Ed Kline, a 52-year-old from Hughesville, was headed to the Eastern Shore and was speechless to learn of the upcoming toll increase. "Wow," said Kline, who thinks in the future he'll go to the Outer Banks instead.



While there aren't many alternatives to pay for roads -- Republicans especially don't want to raise taxes and no one wants to see the price of gas climb any more -- Gilmour said it's the tangibility of the tolls that get people going.



"The problem with tolls is that people hate paying for them, and they have to wait to pay for them," Gilmour said. "This weekend, people will be waiting a long time just for the privilege of paying a toll."

Amy Myers contributed to this report.



lgartner@washingtonexaminer.com



Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/2011/07/tolls-will-continue-jump-washington-roads#ixzz1RGDVYDpw